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Math U See frustrations, should I chunk it


In2why
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We are using MUS Beta and are on level 16. He has learned how to carry numbers well, but his math facts memorization has tanked. He also seems to have regressed in Subtraction, because there is very little subtraction so far. He seems to be back to counting on his fingers. I am guessing because it is mastery instead of spiral math? I also own Math Mammoth and I am thinking about switching to it because I am questioning whether a mastery math program will work for him in this age without the built in review. BUT my biggest problem is that I don't want to keep jumping from math program to math program and create gaps. Any advice or thoughts?

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I recenty switched from MUS to Singapore because of a similar issue early on with Alpha with my 6 yr old. He is "getting it" with Singapore, I think he just needed to look at it differently. I liked Singapore so much that I just moved my 2nd grader to that too. He, however, was excelling at MUS and had just finished Delta. Singapore is a bit more challenging, especially the word problems, so I think this was a good change for him. Singapore does require a little more time for my part in explaining the lessons, but I am ok with that. I was happy with MUS, but even happier with SM.

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I use MUS and love it.

 

I was advised, years ago, to always do a little math facts drill every day, no matter what curriculum you use. The person who gave me this advice was still doing this with her teenagers, who have gone on to math-oriented fields of study in college (one is in engineering, another in computers).

 

We use a variety of little additional materials to do this--worksheets, games, flashcards, etc., for just 5-10 minutes a day. No need to tank the entire curriculum.

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We used MUS for a few years. Older DD did Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and a little bit of Delta. Younger DD did Alpha. I didn't want to switch around either, so I stuck with MUS longer than I should have. My DD did "okay" with it, but not great. We switched to CLE this year and both of my girls are doing GREAT! They both love it and I just love the spiral approach. I definitely think it is a better fit for us. I wish I'd switched a long time ago.

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I use MUS and love it.

 

I was advised, years ago, to always do a little math facts drill every day, no matter what curriculum you use. The person who gave me this advice was still doing this with her teenagers, who have gone on to math-oriented fields of study in college (one is in engineering, another in computers).

 

We use a variety of little additional materials to do this--worksheets, games, flashcards, etc., for just 5-10 minutes a day. No need to tank the entire curriculum.

 

This is what we have started to do also. She is retaining much better this way. We have a different "method" each day. Mon. is math hop, Tue. is the dice game, Wed. is math war, Thur. is math race, and Fri. is word problems that highlight the specific facts that we have been working on. We actually do formal math for 30 minutes and then these math extras for 30 minutes. I can tell a difference in just a couple of weeks.

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This is what we have started to do also. She is retaining much better this way. We have a different "method" each day. Mon. is math hop, Tue. is the dice game, Wed. is math war, Thur. is math race, and Fri. is word problems that highlight the specific facts that we have been working on. We actually do formal math for 30 minutes and then these math extras for 30 minutes. I can tell a difference in just a couple of weeks.

 

 

I am going to give this a try. We need to do something different, and I like the idea of supplementing more than switching.

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I reviewed the beginning of each year for about 2 weeks with math facts. I learned the hard way when we finished Beta and dd had forgotten her addition facts.

 

By the time you get to the division book the student is dividing, subtracting then multiplying and adding to check their work. It works out in the end, you just have to get to the end.

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We are in lesson 20 of Beta and I have been having my son do a quick 20 problem worksheet of math facts everyday while I correct his work. We actually do one table M-th and a review sheet on Friday. This has helped tremendously. I should also add that during the summer we take a 8-10 week break from MUS and do the appropriate Math Mammoth just to kind of solidify and present things a little differently. It keeps things from getting stale.

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I use MUS and love it.

 

I was advised, years ago, to always do a little math facts drill every day, no matter what curriculum you use. The person who gave me this advice was still doing this with her teenagers, who have gone on to math-oriented fields of study in college (one is in engineering, another in computers).

 

We use a variety of little additional materials to do this--worksheets, games, flashcards, etc., for just 5-10 minutes a day. No need to tank the entire curriculum.

:iagree:

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My ds7 is also doing MUS Beta this year, and I think we're around lesson 18. I don't remember his math facts being so lousy at the end of the summer, but when we took a 2 week break for the holidays, it seemed like he hardly remembered anything when we started back again.

 

So I broke out the flashcards once more. And I got Math Mammoth 2A&B and we started 2A along with Beta. We are definitely doing a lot more math than we were before as we're doing both everyday, but I think he's "getting it" better by looking at it more than just one way. (And he's not even complaining about more math nearly as much as I expected!)

 

I don't think I'd throw out MUS at this point. Just break out the flashcards or use the MUS drill practice to nail those facts down.

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